


A matter of Porg or Death

by Lubamoon



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: A lot of porgs, Alternate Universe - Canon, Angst with a Happy Ending, Ben Solo Needs A Hug, Birth Control, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Enemies to Lovers, Everyone Is Alive, Everything is Beautiful and Nothing Hurts, F/M, First Kiss, First Time, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Smut, Force Bond (Star Wars), Idiots in Love, Kylo Ren Redemption, Luke is crazy, My First Smut, Please Don't Hate Me, Post-Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Rain, Rey Needs A Hug, Slow Burn, Snoke don't conect Ben and Rey, The Author Regrets Nothing, The Force Ships It, The Force does, There Is Only One Bed, This Is Not Going To Go The Way You Think, canonverse, except han, porgs, reylo freeform, sweet smut, the porgs ships it
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-13
Updated: 2020-04-24
Packaged: 2021-02-23 04:00:12
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 14,874
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23638612
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lubamoon/pseuds/Lubamoon
Summary: Reylo Enabler PromptsCanon-Verse: In TLJ, Ben finds out where Rey and Luke are thanks to their Bond, and races off to visit her on Ahch-To.
Relationships: Rey/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren
Comments: 13
Kudos: 89
Collections: Reylo Prompt Fills (@reylo_prompts)





	1. The Porgs Ships it

**Author's Note:**

  * Translation into Español available: [Cuestión de Porg o Muerte](https://archiveofourown.org/works/25424056) by [Lubamoon](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lubamoon/pseuds/Lubamoon)



Rey liked Ahch-To even before she landed.

From the _Millennium Falcon_ she observed that almost the entire planet was covered by water and the rocky islands emerged splashing capriciously over the landscape. The ocean stretched to the edge of the cloudy sky, generating all kinds of blue, white and green reflections.

It was the place she had seen in her dreams before she learned about Luke Skywalker and his voluntary exile, and she liked it because it was as different from Jakku as night is from day.

And that's where the clues had led her to find the last Jedi. The Resistance was sending her along with their highest expectations to convince him to join the fight against the First Order. But Rey suspected it wouldn't be that easy. How could she persuade Luke, when his own sister, General Leia Organa, had been trying to locate him for years without success?

What if Luke was no longer there? Or worse, What if he didn't want to help them? As far as Rey knew, Jedi Master Skywalker was the last chance they would have to win. And the only person who could teach her to control and know her own - and very recent - awakening from the Force.

_No. Actually, he's not the only one_.

Rey dismissed the idea before even considering it. Her anxiety turned to anger as she remembered the fight with Kylo Ren at Starkiller Base and the words he said to her as he tried to kill her. It was ridiculous. But she wasn't going to make room for dark thoughts; she had to focus on her task.

Next to her in the copilot's seat, Chewie warned her that they might soon land on the island and pointed out a flat stone area by the sea. Rey prepared herself mentally and physically for what lay ahead.

As she climbed the steep staircase, she reviewed the events that led her there.

 _How had she ended up in that struggle?_ To tell the truth, it all happened so quickly that it was incredible that just a few days ago she was trading pieces of junk for food at Jakku.

After that, Takodana, the moment his journey _really_ began: her first steps in the Force. And though she had found friends and something like family along the way, her mind was always drawn to the most nefarious moments.

For on that day she had the honor of meeting her greatest enemy, first through the visions of Luke's sword, then in person in the woods - kidnapping included. Rey was furious at the thought of Kylo Ren, his mask and his red cross-sword.

She had managed to escape his captivity that time almost without knowing what she was doing, showing Kylo that she was also a user of the Force. Rey took solace in remembering his bewildered face, the panic that invaded his mind, how vulnerable he felt when she managed to enter his mind.

But she dismissed those feelings that came dangerously close to compassion. Kylo was her enemy and wanted to see her dead along with the Resistance and even her own mother. If he had been able to kill his own father without hesitation, he would surely kill her at the first opportunity.

But Rey was not going to indulge him; she would train and defeat Kylo. She smiled with satisfaction at the thought that she had almost done it, and the open wound on his pale face would remind him of it, for she was certain that it would never heal. 

Rey had no doubt of that, and clinging to that premise she climbed the last stone steps.

* * *

Kylo Ren left the throne room of the _Supremacy_ full of hate. His Master Snoke had humiliated him again but swore to himself it would be the last time. It was not going to be easy because he had occupied a large part of his mind for a long time. There were only a few corners left that his poisonous manipulation could not reach.

Besides, he had nothing left to lose because he had given everything to the Dark Side. He did not regret it either, he had no choice. Perhaps he could have acted in a different way if the circumstances had been others. Kylo knew deep down that things had to take their course: he would pass the final tests and finally stop being an apprentice, gain power over everyone and follow in his grandfather Darth Vader's footsteps, finishing his work.

But for a moment he allowed himself to hesitate. What was awaiting him at the end of all that? Did he really want to do it?

_No. He wasn't going to allow weakness. Not again._

Snoke had accused him of still having too much of his Han Solo's heart. And Kylo knew he was right because after he had killed him he didn't feel better, he didn't feel more powerful, on the contrary. He had always successfully controlled his emotions, burying them and distancing himself from everything, but now all he could see in his mind over and over again was his father's astonished face as life abandoned him. He would carry that weight until his own death.

To reach the place where he was, Kylo had passed through numerous trials, sacrificing loyalties, family ties, and even his sanity. Even his own happiness.

He reminded himself that he never had a choice. Not really. No one, not even the people who were supposed to be watching over him, had bothered to listen to him. His life seemed to be predetermined even before he was born because of his outstanding legacy.

A small, rebellious thought, like a distant echo, lodged in his mind. He could not choose, and he decided with the means at his disposal, but did he have a choice now? Was it really too late to return?

Kylo remembered the night of the destruction of Luke's Temple of new Jedi Order. That fateful night that marked the course of the rest of his life.

His own uncle had tried to kill him in his sleep, he was afraid of him, he saw him as a monster. When Luke entered his cabin and turned on the lightsaber, the logical reaction was to defend himself. So his uncle was the only one to blame, he had to protect and guide him, to show him that his power was not ordinary. . It was clear that fate had reserved the difficult path for Kylo.

And then, the burning temple. For the first time he got proof of the greatness of his power. But had he caused that catastrophe? Like a thorn inside his mind, he returned to that night trying to understand. He couldn't leave the past behind.

That night he thought of Leia for the last time, considered going back to her and asking for help. Why didn't he? Snoke was there with him and convinced him it was useless to go back. He just had to keep going, further and further away, while his world disappeared and became pure darkness.

So that's how it was. He couldn't go back that night and he wouldn't go back now. Since then he had numerous sins to his credit, of all kinds, including patricide.

Once in the turbo lift, Kylo looked at the mask on his right hand as if he didn't be aware of it. He used it to keep everyone from recognizing the physical similarities to his parents, the heroes of the New Republic. But the reality was that he did not want to see them. With the mask he imposed terror and emotions did not exist, only darkness.

But the scavenger had taken it upon herself to leave him a little reminder that everything could be broken into pieces for the time being. Kylo had been swinging on a tightrope since a few days ago when he felt the magnitude of the Force in Rey.

In his arrogance he thought he could master her, mold her to his liking, turn her into something like himself. But she was unpredictable, powerful. She was special. Kylo couldn't understand why, but _he needed to._

_The scavenger, ignorant of the mysteries of the Force, had nearly wiped him out._

The scar on his face would not heal soon, and Kylo feared that besides a flesh wound, it was a symbol that she could defeat him.

_She could break him, if she hadn't already._

He wasn't going to let that happen.

Out of his mind, he smashed the helmet against the wall again and again until it was reduced to pieces.

* * *

The meeting with Luke had not gone as Rey expected. The honorable and insufferable Jedi Master walked past her, ignoring her presence, after having thrown the lightsaber that Rey offered him. Frustrated, she picked up the weapon and began walking behind him. she'd still be trying.

But after several attempts to get Luke's attention, she gave up.

Rey allowed herself only five minutes to take a deep breath and calm down before shouting at the old man what she really thought of him and his exile. But the landscape was so perfect that his anger flew away with the first breeze.

Something around her, however, felt strange. It was a buzzing, a sort of vibration behind her head. Rey turned to find out.

Kylo Ren was a few feet away from her, holding his mask with an indecipherable gesture.

_That can't be right._

Rey covered her mouth with her hand to keep from screaming and almost tripped over a rock when she tried to back out. It seemed that Kylo could not see her, but she was too shocked to find out anyway.

And a few seconds before he disappeared, he stared at her in surprise.

Rey looked around trying to convince herself that she wasn't hallucinating. The impression was brief but real and she was sure that he had seen her too.

She decided not to say anything. To be accused of losing her mind would have no place in her growing mess.

Indeed, _Kylo had seen Rey_. And he was even farther away than she was from understanding what had just happened.

Was it the work of the Force? Did the two of them have some kind of bond?

* * *

Rey spent the next few hours chasing Master Luke all over the island. Although he had finally gotten her to listen to her request, thanks to Chewie's help, she still couldn't convince him to leave Ahch-To, much less teach her the intricate ways of the Jedi Order.

That's why Rey decided to stand guard outside the door of his stone hut, trying to beat him out of his own strength. Her stubbornness would be the greatest weapon.

But that night Luke went out without her noticing, while she was sleeping peacefully on an uncomfortable stone bench. Her years in Jakuu had prepared her for any eventuality.

She would not be alone for long, becase the Force decided to try its luck again at that moment.

The vibration of the link was not strong enough to wake Rey, who was unaware of Kylo's presence at any time. But he sensed something abnormal happening and, fascinated by the mystery, he groped in the dark until the clear island sky allowed him to see Rey's face.

He thought he looked different in her sleep, younger, though he couldn't be sure of her real age either. It also occurred to him that it would be an excellent opportunity to end her life but something stopped him, it was not his style to attack from behind.

_That was what Luke had tried to do with him, after all._

As he approached the sleeping girl, he couldn't help but admit that she was very beautiful. Her long eyelashes barely trembled and cast some shadows on her face. Kylo remembered her fierce gaze in the woods at Starkiller Base and turned away a little as a precaution. Perhaps she wasn't asleep and it was all a trap to finish him off.

But before he started to retreat, the murmur of some incoherence between dreams caught his attention. Rey stirred and clenched her teeth, surely because of a nightmare.

"Murderous snake!"

Kylo held his breath for a few moments. Was she dreaming about him? That made him quite happy because it was obvious that he could still torture her in her sleep.

"Ben?"

The smile left her face. Why had she uttered the name he hated so much, the one he wanted to forget? What did she know?

Rey opened her eyes for a second before the connection was broken, but it was enough to see Kylo's face in darkness before it was diluted with the night.

_That was definitely not a normal nightmare._

* * *

The third time they met, Rey and Kylo were no longer surprised. They admitted with some regret that this was the way things were between them now: they were doomed to have to spend some time together even if they didn't want to.

Neither of them could control the duration or timing of the connection, but they could use the situation to learn about each other's weaknesses and gain advantage in future fights. Or they could just hang out and look at each other unpleasantly or insult each other, but soon that was no longer fun.

Deep down they both recognized that they were waiting for those moments, which were coming more and more often.

Kylo knew that Rey was with Luke even though he couldn't see him with his own eyes. Part of him wanted to warn Rey that her idolized Master was weak and was wasting her natural talent for the Force on him. He enjoyed provoking her with hurtful phrases but she always responded with something worse.

Kylo was always left with the feeling that he wanted to spend more time with her. He would never admit out loud that he enjoyed listening to her when she wasn't screaming or throwing things at him.

For his part, Rey now knew much more about Kylo's past as Ben Solo. She listened to the opposite versions of Luke and Kylo only to discover that she could not give credit to either of them. Luke kept things from her and Kylo had his own purposes. However, she would be driven by her own perception: she knew that Ben was still there, somewhere, inside Kylo.

The conversations between them didn't always go well, but Rey recognized that Kylo was a good listener. There was something a bit perverse about all this, but she preferred to think that she was in the middle of a mission to rescue Ben's soul and thus end the conflict from inside, without unnecessary deaths, without having to fight with weapons.

_Indeed, Rey was ambitious._

And for some reason neither gave away the other, the secret was an implicit agreement.

* * *

Rey only got over her frustration by training, and during those days she did so many times. The relative calm of the island, the absence of others she might eventually hurt, and the mild climate made Ahch-To the perfect place to practice her fighting poses.

Only the porgs looked with their large, curious eyes each time the blue sword struck the rocks, cutting them with clean blows. The small winged creatures emitted high-pitched screams that distracted Rey a bit, but she soon began to get along and even made room for them inside the _Falcon_ to build a nest. Or they took over her personal space, Rey was not so sure of the order of events.

On her pauses she watched them with enjoyment; the little animals were friendly and quite restless and flighty. The only bad habit they had was to steal her things. On more than one occasion she had to chase them around the island to get some personal effects back.

That day Rey was on one of her routine breaks and had put aside the lightsaber to take benefit of the warmth of the morning sun. One of the porgs approached slowly and without her noticing it, picked the weapon up with its feet, took flight with difficulty, and ran away screaming. A rather large group of admirers joined it in its misdeed and by the time Rey realized what was happening, they were far away.

Standing up suddenly, she began to run after them, amusingly at first. But as they approached a cliff, the smile left her face. The gun was heavy, what if it dropped it in the water? The porgs knew how to swim, so it wasn't a problem. But Rey didn't want anything to do with having to practice swimming skills she didn't even know if she had or not.

With long strides she soon caught up with the cause of the interruption and tried to stop it through The Force. The porg, with its bulging, expressive eyes, froze in the air and began frantically flapping his short wings. Rey’s lightsaber was so heavy that it had to let go, safe and sound, at the edge of the cliff.

More calmly, Rey came and rescued it from the punishment, although the animal did not seem to be bothered at all by the kind of levitation. When it got caught, the porg was adorable. They were not as heavy as their structure appeared because they were covered with a thick layer of waterproof feathers. The small miscreant stirred a little in the young woman's embrace but did not try to escape.

When Rey felt the warning of a new connection in the Force, it was too late to let the porg go. Not that she could simply throw it off the cliff, although for the moment she forgot that the creature would come to no harm. She only managed to hold it firmly and tried to hide it behind her back anyway.

"You again" Kylo's voice froze Rey in place. "What are you doing? What do you have there?" He looked at Rey interested in her unconventional behavior.

"Nothing that could be of interest to you." Rey moved strangely as the porg tried to free itself from her captivity.

"Don't tell me I interrupted your lunch. Lately, whenever the Force connects us, you're eating." That wasn't true, but Kylo just wanted to provoke her. He liked to see her angry over trifles.

Rey didn't take it too well and opened her mouth to answer something that would definitely put him in his place. But she couldn't do it because the porg ran away and flew right out to Kylo.

"Oh, no...!"

Without being able to avoid it, the little winged being crossed the dimensions of the Bond and began to spin around the room where Kylo was, leaving Rey’s visual range.

"What the hell is that?" Kylo looked sideways trying to locate and exterminate the invader, which bumped into the furniture and droids inside the room.

"It's nothing... Nothing!"

Rey wanted to bang her head against a wall. The porgs were native to Ahch-To and only bred there. If Kylo did some research, he wouldn't have any trouble finding the location of the island. And there was no doubt in Rey's mind that he was going to do it.

"It doesn't look like anything… Don't worry, I found it." Kylo finally looked at the insignificant animal that had almost destroyed his room. His brain quickly took mental note of the creature's appearance and soon a triumphant smile crossed his lips.

"So, there you are..." Turning to find the look of Rey, he rejoiced with panic in her eyes. "I may think of paying you and Luke a visit soon."

And then he disappeared. The connection was over and Rey collapsed on the floor not knowing what to do.

_Think, and soon. He will come here. I must warn Luke, but if I do he'll ask how I know and I'll have to reveal our conversations._

"Oh, hell! Why do these things happen to me?"

She stood up quickly because she had no time to lose. Probably while she was thinking all those things, Kylo was already one foot in his ship.

She hooked her lightsaber on her belt and began to run to the stone huts but Luke was not there. He was probably milking a Thala-siren and drinking that awful green liquid.

But her master soon appeared before her.

"What is it, Rey?" Luke realized that something was wrong with the young woman's unhinged face.

"Master! You must leave the island immediately, Kylo Ren is heading this way!" Rey spoke almost breathlessly about the race.

"Calm down, kid! What are you saying?" Luke lost his temper with her sometimes. She was too energetic, too emotional.

"Kylo found out where we are or he'll find out soon enough, and he'll come here. You must leave right now with Cheewie at the _Falcon_. I will confront him..." Rey was gradually calmed down, enough to be able to explain herself more clearly.

"Wait a moment." Luke held up a hand, signaling her to stop. "You're not making any sense, plus how can you face him when you've only been training for… What? Two days? Are you out of your mind?"

"I've done it before... with relative success." Rey remembered his meeting with Kylo at Starkiller Base but didn't want to think about what would have happened if the earth hadn't opened up, creating an abyss between them.

"You won't be so lucky this time. Haven't you told me there's no trace of light left in him? That he's more powerful than ever?"

"I know, but I think if I talk to him..." Rey knew that she could bring Kylo to his senses because she had seen his inner conflict and under the mask she was sure that Ben Solo was still alive and could rise to the surface.

"Talk to him?" Luke was skeptical. "Yeah right, keep dreaming, Rey."

She bit her lip. How was she going to convince Luke to get to safety? They were wasting precious time.

"Maybe if he listens to me, we'll all win. If I can get Ben to listen to me, Kylo will cease to exist." Rey ignored Luke's mocking gesture "There's a lot you don't know about him." But Luke kept ignoring her.

"And what makes you so sure he's coming here?"

 _Well, the time to confess had come_. Rey looked down, grieving that she had withheld crucial information.

"Because I just talked to him."


	2. This is not going to go the way your stubborn head thinks

Kylo Ren effectively discovered Rey's location thanks to his new and unexpected winged friend. The Porg looked with his big eyes into the cage he had placed him in.

He wasn't going to keep it, but he wasn't going to take its life. The creature reminded him a bit of Rey, seemingly helpless and vulnerable but quite capable of defending herself, however he put the thought aside immediately.

_He was getting soft because of Rey._

Analysis determined that Ahch-To, a system of the Unknown Regions, was the place from which the creature came. The maps of the Empire were not updated but were supplemented by new information provided after the campaigns of the First Order.

Kylo did not know exactly what was there, but thanks to his Force Bond with the Rey, he could infer that it was a damp and cold place, perhaps an island.

_The island he saw in her mind when he captured her in Takodana._

During his years as Luke's apprentice, Kylo traveled half the galaxy with him and Lor San Tekka in search of the remains of the Jedi Order. It was no secret that his uncle was seeking the first Jedi temple and had apparently found it.

_So that's where Luke hid out for years._

Kylo knew what he had to do: eliminate Luke and bring Rey to his Master Snoke. That would be his last test. And he should feel satisfied that things had come so easily for him.

But for some reason it wasn't at all.

He wanted to face his uncle, he wanted to see him defeated and get revenge for the suffering he had caused him. But with respect to Rey, the story was different.

Should he inform his Master about what he had discovered? Kylo was struggling to hide things from him because he needed some space to think about his own desires.

Was it possible that Snoke already knew? He preferred to keep everything strictly secret because he sensed it was a valuable opportunity to do the exact opposite of what was expected of him.

For the first time in his life, Kylo considered the possibility that he had other options besides following rules. He could become the Supreme Leader himself and get rid of Snoke and his manipulation forever. Although he was not yet clear about what he was going to do next.

With his spontaneous sincerity, Rey insisted on showing him that he still had a choice. But what was the right choice? What was she trying to do by planting these thoughts in her mind?

Her uncertainty went beyond a conflict of loyalties. He no longer cared about Snoke, nor was he particularly inclined to save Luke.

But he wasn't going to hurt Rey in any way.

The scavenger was not only a key player in the power of the Force, Kylo had a certain affection for her, perhaps a little deeper than he dared admit. But what would she think of him? Would she still see him as an enemy?

If he could convince Rey to join him, if he could convert her to the Dark Side, together they would be invincible. She was the only one who had bothered to try to understand him, the only one with whom he felt a meaningful connection, beyond the designs of the Force. Besides, she would need a more capable teacher than Luke once his life was over.

Perhaps together they could defeat Snoke and his imperial guard, Kylo would take the throne and Rey would be his empress. The plan was simple as long as she was on his side. And though he didn't count on it, he would appeal to whatever methods and persuasion were necessary.

Kylo had a lot on his mind, but he decided to do it on the way.

He gave orders for his TIE to be prepared and dodged a malevolent Hux without further thought or explanation. Deep down, he knew everything would be different when he returned to the _Supremacy_.

And he wasn't going to give up; he wasn't going to go back alone.

* * *

In Ahch-To Rey had no choice but to tell her Master the whole truth. She had endangered them all by being stubborn, believing that she would be able to bring Kylo Ren to her knees. Luke was unsympathetic and they were running out of time to escape.

"The Force connects us, I can't explain how. But sometimes we talk."

"Since when does this happen? When were you going to tell me? I can't believe you did it right under my nose!" Luke was really angry.

"It's not my fault! Well, it's not _all_ my fault. We both decided not to tell anyone..." 

"Oh, this is wonderful! You have condemned us all!"

"Master, I'm sorry. But it's not too late, you can still escape!"

Luke seemed to be considering something, but then he shook his head.

"I'm not going to run anymore. I came to this island to die and I'll be satisfied if I can take him with me."

Luke began to walk, turning his back on Rey.

"I know what really happened on the night of the Temple's destruction. I've seen it. It wasn't Ben's fault, it was Snoke's."

Luke retraced his steps.

"He made him believe it was his fault. But it wasn't." Rey continued talking.

"The darkness had already claimed him, Rey. He attacked me. There is no hope for Ben anymore."

"He was helpless and you tried to kill him! He trusted his Master. Ben trusted you!"

Luke lowered his head, the young lady was right.

"I'm to blame for all this. I failled him."

"Maybe." Rey shortened the distance between them. "But you may be responsible for fixing it."

"How?" Luke felt that his mistakes weighed heavily on him.

"Show him you still believe in him. Like I do."

"He'll want to kill me as soon as he sees me, he won't hesitate."

"I know. This is not the time or the place." Rey was trying to be positive but also realistic. "We can try, but Ben's not ready yet."

"You need time."

Rey nodded.

"I have a plan."

"Rey, this is not going to go the way you think." Luke gave her a warning look but didn't object to hearing it.

"It never works the way I think it does, but that won't stop me now."

* * *

From the air, Kylo could see the _Millennium Falcon_ parked at one end of the island. He couldn't help but remember his father without being disturbed. The presence of the ship could only indicate that Rey was there, although he could not see her or Luke anywhere.

Kylo had easily circumvented the First Order's sensors because they were all busy attacking the _Raddus_ , the Resistance ship. He made sure that no one followed him on his escape and did not bother to take an escort.

After landing his ship in a nearby valley, he climbed the stone stairs that would lead him to the small village. He was overcome with an uncomfortable but strangely pleasant sense of anxiety that he would finally see Rey again, as he accumulated hostility to confront his uncle.

Familiar shrieks alerted him to the presence of the porgs who followed him with their expressive eyes at every step they took. Kylo wondered if he was being blamed for their friend's murder, which he had to thank for his presence on the island.

When he reached the top of the valley he stopped abruptly when he saw the unmistakable figure of his uncle Luke, _older and more hateful than ever_. He lit his cross sword, though the Jedi carried no weapon. Or so it seemed.

Kylo decided not to beat around the bush this time.

"Where is she?"

"Should I be offended? I thought you were coming for me." Luke was awfully quiet.

"I'm going to kill you, but first you'll tell me where the Rey is.

"I thought you'd know, because of that _bonding_ thing you guys share."

Kylo hesitated a second before answering. He couldn't feel Rey, _had she gone?_

Luke stood still, guessing Kylo's thoughts.

"No fighting here. This is a sacred island, a Jedi sanctuary."

"I don't care! I'm not a Jedi."

Luke offered him a half smile.

"You're not a Sith either."

"That's enough! I'm running out of patience, you _damn old man_. I'm going to kill you!"

"But _make sure you do it this time_."

The provocation ignited Kylo's fury, who pounced on Luke willing to end his life. But before he could get to him, his uncle disappeared before his eyes. He heard the sound of a ship taking off and turned to see that the Millennium Falcon was leaving the island, surely with its precious cargo.

_That's not going to work. Such cowards._

Ready to run to his TIE to continue the air chase, he retraced his steps in a hurry, but a voice stopped him audaciously.

"Ben!"

Rey was there, she didn't go away and she was running at full speed towards him. Kylo felt an emotion that he could not or would not identify at the moment. But it was a _pleasant_ feeling.

But the young woman's face did not give him that impression _. She was very angry._

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Rey stopped a few inches away from him.

Kylo didn't know exactly _what_ she meant.

"I was hoping you'd be happier to see me, I went to a lot of trouble to come."

"No one asked you to do this." Rey crossed her arms in impatience.

"You knew I would find you sooner or later. Why are you surprised?"

"Do you have any idea what it took to convince Luke to make peace with you?"

_Has she lost her mind?_

"So that's what this was all about? He didn't seem very interested in apologizing. Besides, since when are you interested in lost causes?"

Rey paused before continuing.

"Since I met you, Ben."

Kylo smiled sadly. _In spite of everything, she still believes she can save him._

"You're wasting your time."

"Of course not. I know you can still make the right decision." Rey came a little closer and forced him to look her in the eye.

"Right for you, you mean. The game you're trying to play is dangerous, Rey. Nothing stops me from sounding the alarm and backup will be here in half a minute."

Rey shrugged. A slight chill ran down her back as she heard his name spoken almost in a whisper.

"But you haven't. That means you didn't come here with any intention of fighting."

"Right. I came looking for you. But if you don't come with me, I'm more than willing to..."

"It won't be necessary. I'll go with you." Rey was risking her life and she knew it. But her heart was telling her that this was the only way she could get Ben back home. She was secure and there was no longer a chance to regret it.

Kylo was about to protest but Rey's response stunned him.

" _What?"_

"I'll go with you." She repeated. "In return I want you to leave the Resistance and Luke alone."

Kylo couldn't believe what he was hearing. That was his original intention after all.

_Was it really going to be that easy? Was Rey trying to trick him?_

"What kind of trick is this?"

"No tricks. I'll go of my own free will if you do what I ask."

"You know it's not in my power to do that. Snoke is the Supreme Leader, not me."

"To hell with Snoke! You can end all that. I'll help you, I promise.”

Kylo adopted a threatening tone that intimidated Rey a bit.

"I know what you're trying to do and it's not going to work. Your life is more important than a bunch of rebels."

"You're wrong to think I'm doing it for them. It's true that I want all this to be over with, but..." Rey hesitated for a moment before continuing. "I want to do this for you, together with you. I want to help you. Why is it so hard to understand?"

"And then what?" Kylo glanced around cautiously.

"And then what, what?" Rey lost track of the conversation.

"We beat Snoke, and then what?" Kylo put one hand to his head in obvious frustration.

"Wow, I haven't really thought about that yet." Rey bit her lips and put her hands on her waist.

Kylo decided to take control of the situation. If she was trying to confuse him, she certainly succeeded. He couldn't figure out her real intentions without letting her feelings get involved.

_No, this wasn't going to be as easy as it seemed at first._

"I have a counterproposal."

Rey watched him carefully as he waited for him to speak.

"You come with me, we defeat Snoke and I take his place as Supreme Leader." Rey began to nod her head, but Kylo continued. "And you accept my hand to rule over the galaxy together."

Rey looked at him with her mouth open, unable to utter a word and feeling her cheeks blushing. She was furious at Ben's stubbornness and largely flattered, too.

_Why did he have to be so stubborn? What kind of proposal was that?_

_At what point had things gotten out of control like that?_

_But she could be as stubborn as he was._

"I have a counter - counterproposal."

"You mean a counterproposal to my own counterproposal?"

_What an exasperating man._

"Whatever!"

_How he liked so much to see her angry._

Kylo crossed his arms and forced himself not to smile. They were wasting their time, but he had never had so much fun in his life. The way Rey was trying to get away with it, trying to have the last word was admirable.

"I'm listening."

Rey cleared her throat.

"I go with you to the _Supremacy_ , help you defeat Snoke and free you from his cruel manipulation. Then you leave the First Order and join the Resistance to end this damn war once and for all."

Kylo started laughing out loud at a very offended Rey. As angry as she was, she could not help but think that _it was at least worth seeing him laugh like that._

"Of course not!" Kylo wiped away the tears that the Rey's naive comment had provoked.

"Then no deal!" Rey turned and began to walk away, completely outraged and disturbed. "And just so you know, I would never agree to get involved in a relationship with you unless we were on the same side!"

"Wait, Rey" Kylo managed to take one of her hands before she was out of reach.

The pressure of his hand on hers was warm and gentle, he was not trying to hold her against her will and Rey could not or would not let go. Their eyes met and everything blurred around them. They were barely aware of the wind, the cold and the creatures around them.

Although the high-pitched shriek of the porgs was just what got them out of the spell and the contact was broken.

Kylo felt that he was going to lose it just when everything was starting to make sense to him. Rey wanted to help him, she didn't see him as her enemy. And even if he couldn't sacrifice everything for her yet, he didn't want to lose her favor.

Nor would he be able to force her to go with him as he had thought before he came to the island. For once in his life he would have to calm his whims and trust someone else, not just anyone but Rey.

 _He was surprised to see how much he had changed in such a short time_. The possibility of becoming Ben again did not seem so far-fetched to him at the time.

"We don't have to decide everything now." Rey was the first to break the distressing silence with her usual honesty and a straightforward smile. "At least we agree on the part about defeating Snoke."

Kylo nodded, grateful.

"Can we consider this a truce?"

"I'd rather see it as an alliance."


	3. There is only one bed

At the _Millennium Falcon_ , Chewbacca was worried he'd left Rey in Ahch-To. He hoped with all his heart that she could bring Ben back, despite what had happened to Han. He wanted to believe in Rey as surely as she felt she could.

After all, the wookie still remembered Ben fondly as a child, when things were apparently simpler, before everything fell apart. He regretted that he had done nothing to stop it because Ben was part of his family like Han, Leia, and Luke.

But his part was done, so all that remained was to wait and hope for the best.

* * *

Rey needed more time to make her plan work.

The fact that Ben had arrived so quickly had given her no room to explain and convince Luke, but that no longer mattered. Luckily she had a Plan B and to do that she had to entertain her guest a little bit, feel his emotions, before going with him to the _Supremacy_.

However, time was not something she could count on indiscriminately, so she would do everything in her power under such circumstances. Perhaps the First Order had not yet noticed Kylo Ren's disappearance or they weren’t too concerned about what he might be doing.

At least in that respect she could be sure that they would not attack them while he remained on the island. The question of the Resistance aboard the _Raddus_ was a different matter, because communication had been cut off hours earlier.

As always, Rey had to go with her instincts and the Force. And hope for the best.

The sudden and heavy rain was an answer to her prayers, offering her an excellent excuse for both of them to delay their departure. Rey knew from experience that the weather was capricious on the island and could rain indefinitely, so she had taken her raincoat before going to meet Ben.

She rushed to seek shelter, guiding Ben to the stone huts in the village near their location.

"What is this place?" Ben took a quick look at the buildings as he ran after the Rey through the small maze of houses.

"The Jedi village. To house travellers and enthusiasts of the Jedi Order."

"I should have known better."

Ben was feeling pretty out of place, and he didn't like that very much. He noticed that all the cabins had no door, except one that was protected by a metal plate that did not coordinate with the rest.

"Not there!" Rey managed to yell at him before he opened the door "It's Luke's cabin! I assure you, you don't want to go in there."

Ben seemed to hesitate for a moment, feeling a little strange. He could _almost_ imagine Luke in that place, but he dismissed the idea immediately because he had other things to take care of.

_Like protecting himself from the damn rain that threatened to wash him to his bones._

"I assume this is your home." He said as he entered one of the huts she pointed out to him and Rey tried to hide the little mess her belongings made.

"Yes." She was a little disturbed by his critical gaze and suddenly the room didn't seem as comfortable as before. But she tried to joke so as not to think too much about how Ben seemed to fill the room with his presence. "I'm not used to having visitors, so I'm sorry if it's not to your liking."

Although they managed to avoid the worst of the storm, their clothes were soaked.

Kylo's cape had protected his back but he seemed to weigh tons and his hair stuck to his face as the drops continued to slide down to the ground.

Rey had not suffered any major damage thanks to her rain coat, but she quickly removed it and hung it up to let the water run off. Her vest was wet so she also took it off to keep from getting colder than necessary and covered her shoulders with a blanket.

In the tiny room the caretakers had set a nice fire before they arrived, which the two of them thanked internally. The afternoon was slowly giving way to night, and the absence of the heat of the suns made the damp air feel colder than usual.

But inside the hut there was warmth thanks to the fire and a feeling of intimacy that seemed to have grown suddenly between them not without some discomfort. Suddenly the space was not large enough for the two of them to inhabit.

Rey attributed this sensation to the colossal figure of Ben, who walked around not knowing what to do, his eyes sullen and his cloak tightly fitting, resembling a caged and dangerous beast. The shadow that projected behind him, stretched out to blend in with the darkness of the ceiling, made him even more fearsome.

After all, it was the first time the two had ever truly met face to face in such a small place, with no handcuffs or interrogation chairs involved, no lightsaber fights, no Force bond.

Both were totally aware of each other's presence, and Rey was not sure she could say it was anything but pleasant.

If she wanted to move forward with the goal of gaining Ben's trust, she had to try not to inconvenience him in order to facilitate communication with him. She was not afraid because she knew him well enough to perceive that he was in painful too.

Ben couldn't help but take a critical look at the place and its shortcomings. There wasn't much space in the circular room, nor was there any furniture or room for privacy. The door consisted of a woven curtain that barely stopped the impact of the storm and did not prevent a few drops from entering.

The only source of light was the fire, but in the shadows he could make out a small bunk and some wooden barrels that he could use to sit on, because he did not plan to do so on the Rey's bed unless she allowed it.

But soon those thoughts led him to imagine other, less innocent things that the young woman's closeness was beginning to provoke him.

Ben prayed by all means that the rain would stop soon so that he could leave and not have to spend the night there.

He was not worried about sleeping on the floor or not sleeping at all, he had accepted the conditions of the shelter so as not to worry Rey. But he was terrified of the possibility of not being able to control his emotions that she would awaken in him.

As he tried to control himself, he did not realize that Rey was staring at him, as if waiting for the answer to a question he had not even heard.

Squinting with feigned annoyance, Rey approached him without waiting for an answer and tiptoed to unbutton his cloak, which fell heavily to the stone floor behind him.

Ben had no time to protest, everything had happened so fast that he only managed to open his mouth but no word came out of it. Rey simply hung the garment on a hook that protruded from the stone wall next to her own cape.

"You're welcome." Rey was amused by his stupefied gesture and tried to mock him a little as a small revenge for his distraction. "What were you thinking?"

Ben had to clear his throat, which suddenly felt rough, and tried with little success to conceal his embarrassment, desperately looking for something to say. But what he said next was quite absurd and was not the best reflection of his intelligence but of the confused state he was in at the time.

"Have you lit the fire?"

Rey held back her laughter as best she could while she shook her head, feeling sorry for Ben who seemed to be having a terrible time, though she was far from suspecting that she and her natural character were the cause.

"The caretakers are responsible for keeping the village clean and the fire always burning for the inhabitants. But I don't know why they bothered to light it, as they don't like me." She shrugged. "It's logical, considering I've caused some incidents."

"What kind of incidents?" If Rey was offering him a pointless trivia to pass the time, he wasn't going to turn it down because it distracted him from his real problems. Plus he liked listening to her, he always had. Rey had a soft voice when she was calm.

"Let's just say I've messed up a few things during training, even though I've only been here a short time."

Ben tried to show her that he was defending her attitude by trying not to make his voice sound reproachful.

"This place is very old; it seems to be thousands of years." And then he looked around as if to emphasize his words. "And the facilities leave much to be desired."

"It's a Jedi temple." Rey intervened without particularly disagreeing but still trying to defend the site she loved so much. "Those who come here do not need opulence because clinging to material possessions would be against the oath."

"I know." Ben added with an almost boring tone "Discipline and Control, to avoid falling into the temptation of the Dark Side." And although he was dying to add something else, he preferred to keep quiet so as not to get involved in a debate he did not have the strength to win.

Instead he looked at Rey, whose blanket had slipped a little, exposing her shoulders and part of her bandaged arms. But he immediately looked away, trying not to think about the images that capriciously invaded his mind because of that small bit of skin.

"I understand you must be used to something quite different." Rey wondered what Ben's room would look like in the First Order. "I guess this is more than good for me. I've lived in worse places and I love the climate of the island."

Ben did not respond immediately, but thought about what he knew about her and what he had seen in her mind: her past in Jakku, the desert, the lack of food and water.

"Of course." And then he added, in a soft tone. "I imagine you love the rain too."

"That's right." Rey offered him a dreamy smile that she was quick to hide. "I'm sorry the cabin is not to your liking, but it's impossible to know how long the rain will last." She softened her gesture and looked at him with genuine regret. "I suggest you try to make yourself comfortable. We'll be here for a while."

_And for some reason that certainty caused her chest to tingle._

Ben, who was still standing, looked for a tiny seat that he thought would hold his weight. And then he sat down slowly with his knees together. He would rather be in that position than make a fool of himself in front of Rey.

He took off his gloves because he felt his hands sweating and left them on a small table nearby. He noticed that there were some of Rey's belongings there, such as the blaster who would surely Han Solo had given to her. A sneer of contempt mixed with pain flew across his face and then disappeared because he was distracted by a movement in front of him.

Rey began to untie her bows so that she could dry and comb her abundant hair or at least, try to make it a little more suitable. With her fingers she tried to straighten it and with a thick piece of cloth she absorbed some of the moisture that was left in it.

The gesture was not premeditated nor was it intended to be seductive, in fact Rey moved quite clumsily considering that she had no elements to comb her hair except for her own hands.

But Ben could not take his eyes off her long, slender fingers interlocking in her brown hair. He had never seen her without her usual hairstyle, and he found that he liked the change very much, because it came loose a little more under her shoulders.

He wondered how it would feel to sink his own fingers into her hair, how it would look stretched out on her pillow, what it would be like to wake up to her scent.

Rey finished preening herself by tying two ponytails with strips of cloth, tightly held behind her head, leaving some hair to fall behind her back. As she did this she noticed Ben, who was looking at her strangely, his lips parted and his eyes obscured by some indecipherable emotion.

She noticed that he had been silent for a long time, not complaining about the place or commenting on the Jedi Order. Instead he was very still and seemed captivated by her every move.

When Ben's gaze finally met her own, he rushed to avoid her and tried again to say something so as not to make her feel uncomfortable, and so that she would not notice how disturbed he was.

But instead, he felt his blush violently and he couldn't help but run his hand through his hair like he did when he was nervous.

Rey interpreted Ben's gesture as a need to dry his hair, which was still dropping small drops on the floor. But she knew he was too proud to ask for a favor. She had the same look as before when she asked him if he wanted to hang up his cape.

To spare the displeasure she approached him again and circled around him until she was standing on his back, starting to rub his dark hair slowly with the piece of fabric she had worn a few minutes earlier herself.

"I'm sorry I don't have anything better to dry it with, but this will do."

Rey's spontaneous gesture took him by surprise again, and he was frozen in place not knowing how to react. The feeling of having her so close to him, the familiarity with which she touched him, was wonderful.

When was the last time someone got so close to him? Why did he allow Rey to do it? Ben did not remember ever feeling that way, perhaps in the past when he was a child, but those memories were very painful.

Why did Rey bother so much about his well-being? What did she really want? What did she hope to achieve? His senses were sharpened.

_Would she try to attack him from behind? No. She wouldn't do that, plus she promised to help him defeat Snoke._

Once satisfied with the drying, Rey began to unravel Ben's tangled hair delicately. The strands slipped between her fingers with a pleasant feeling. It was so pleasant to touch, just as she had imagined it: soft, thick and wild.

She could not resist the temptation to sink her fingers into it, letting herself be carried away by the incipient acceptance and comfort that seemed to emanate from Ben. She delayed a little longer as the resistance between her fingers gave way, savoring the moment of intimacy that that simple act represented.

Rey avoided contact with other people; in fact she hated it or found it hard to accept. Her friends understood her coldness and did not pressure her.

But why did Ben make her feel so different? Why did she want to be so close to him every time she saw him? Even when they argued during their connections, her initial desire was to throw herself into his arms, as absurd as that might sound when dealing with her enemy.

But at that moment she found herself wishing that things between them would always be that way, a perfect balance and a harmony of opposites. She wished that they did not have to be enemies. And for a brief moment, they didn’t.

Ben could understand her without words and she longed for the chance to know him better, but she could not bring herself to imagine it.

Why did everything have to be so difficult? Why did they have to be the two most stubborn beings in the galaxy?

Ben accepted the gentle touch of Rey's hands as he tried to breathe normally. The sensation was so pleasant that his heart skipped beat in yearning and he closed his eyes to forget for a moment where he was and the reasons that had led him there.

But a certain part of reality was leaking out and the guilt of not being worthy of the sweet attentions of Rey began to grow inside him along with the voices he was trying to silence unsuccessfully.

The tender moment was brief but intense for both of them and Rey felt the exact second when Ben tried to back off, letting the darkness take over. She noticed his fists clenched over his knees and his shoulders tightened under his clothes. She could not see him in the eyes but imagined his lips as a thin, tight line that could barely contain a cry of frustration.

His voice, choked with effort and full of bitterness, abruptly stopped the Rey's caresses.

"Don't do that." It sounded like a tortured, trembling whisper on his lips. "Please."

Rey withdrew her hand, realizing what she was doing and not quite knowing why she had come so far, invading Ben's personal space. She felt guilty for taking so many liberties when all she wanted was to show him affection and care.

"I'm sorry, Ben. I just..."

"Don't do it." he repeated in pain.

Ben stood up to impose some distance between them, but what he really wanted was to run away, to escape from Rey and his sweet caresses and the bright aura that flooded his senses when she was near him. But outside the rain seemed to be at its worst and something inside him forced him to stay there, stuck in that place, as if rejoicing in torturing him.

Almost unable to breathe, he leaned one of his arms against the opposite wall and tried to recover to get his thoughts in order, but without success.

For a few seconds that seemed like forever, neither of them spoke. The silence between them was only interrupted by the crackling of the fire and the echoes of the storm that remained constant outside.

Inside the hut the air suddenly became cold, making Rey tremble as she felt her heart squeeze with anguish.

Why did Ben reject her? She could see him battling with himself, with his back to her and his head hidden by his arm. She hated to see him like that and even more so when she knew she was the cause.

But she couldn't help being angry too. She had tried everything to show her genuine affection, she had agreed to fight alongside him against Snoke, she agreed to go with him even if it meant risking her life. She was even trying to convince him that it was not too late to return to his family, that her own affection for him was deeper than compassion.

_Because Rey loved him, she loved Ben; she needed him by her side._

The revelation was a great shock to her and it took her a few minutes to digest it.

A little calmer, but with her emotions still reverberating within her, Rey slowly approached him until she was just a few inches away from Ben. He noticed her presence only when she placed one of her hands on his shoulder, hoping that he would react in a violent and prepared manner.

Instead he turned and took her in his arms with gentleness, sinking his face into Rey's hair to soak up her scent. He embraced her urgently, with need, clinging to her like a castaway to his last salvation. Rey was able to show him a different world in which he could be worthy of her affection and the risks he would have to take to get her to stay by his side, did not frighten him as much as the fear of losing her.

Rey abandoned himself to the embrace, feeling Ben's need that was also hers. Something awoke in her, which she marveled at. She wanted to touch him, to feel his hands all over her body; she wanted to know how it would feel to be kissed by him, at least once, while the terms of their delicate alliance lasted.

"Don't play games with me, Rey." Ben's deep voice sounded through her hair, near her ear, making her shiver. "I can endure worse tortures, but you..." he buried himself more in her neck. “I don't want to hurt you. And you know that at any moment I can fail you."

She felt his voice tremble at the end of the sentence. Moved by the despair in his tone that broke her defenses to pieces, she wanted to thank him for opening his heart to her, showing him that she felt the same way.

She hugged him tighter, resting her head on his chest, listening to his heart's wild gallop and breathing in deeply to fill herself with his warmth. His clothes were still wet from the rain and gave off a comforting aroma, mixing the smell of rain she loved so much with his own.

"You will not. You're not alone anymore, Ben." Rey sought out his gaze obscured by sadness and longing, seeing how hurt he was.

He had struggled to bury his life behind a mask and a fearsome name, had done things he was not proud of, while Ben waited in the shadows cornered, unable to come out into the Light. Rey was able to see him even when everyone, including him, seemed to have lost faith in his return.

Rey laid her fingers gently on the scar on his face, the wound she had caused him only days before and which she now regretted.

But she could not have changed anything between them; she could not change the past.

"Neither are you, Rey." Ben found her eyes crying in silence, crying for him. He had hurt her before and maybe he was hurting her right now. _But he would never hurt her again._

Placing one of his hands behind Rey's head, cupping it to bring her face closer to his, he sought her lips as if in a trance. He gave himself to the imperious need to feel her mouth, her breath, her taste.

She received him with a sigh, surrendering to the soft pressure of those full lips that seemed to be made to kiss and be kissed, abandoning herself to the shy caresses that Ben made at the base of her back, where he had placed his other hand to bring her closer to him.

She wrapped her own arms around his neck, as the kiss grew more intimate. Letting herself be carried away by a new impulse in her, though a little embarrassed, she parted her lips so that she could feel Ben's taste and run his mouth at ease. He accepted the challenge with a groan in response and both were lost in rising waves of passion.

Each one's reserves collapsed, the fortresses they had built over the years to protect their souls were reduced to rubble. At that moment only the two of them existed, within the small world that now reduced its boundaries to the circular space of the room.

Outside, the storm seemed to be at its strongest, lashing the island and its inhabitants mercilessly, but Ben and Rey were oblivious to its ravages. Their souls, thirsting for physical contact and sincere affection, gave themselves over to the whirlwind of new and fascinating sensations.

Suddenly the kiss was not enough and as they parted a little to take a breath, they looked at each other intensely for a long minute, while their breaths were regulated.

There was no doubt in the Rey's eyes and no pain in Ben's. He pressed his forehead against hers and closed his eyes, enjoying the love they shared. The surrender had special meaning for his tortured soul because Rey was the only one capable of bringing peace to his life.

Rey saw Ben smile for the first time, sweet and true, a smile that was only for her and could be considered the real manifestation of her victory. It was the official decree that Kylo Ren was now a part of the past. From now on she wanted to see him smile always; she wanted to make him happy.

She appreciated the curious twist in her plans. Certainly her idea was to save Ben but she never imagined that in the course of time she would discover that she could not live without him and did not want to.

_She never thought she would fall madly in love with the one she swore to defeat._

"I guess this changes things a little bit." Said Ben between funny and provocative, caressing Rey's lips, swollen by his kisses. "I don't think we're enemies anymore."

"We'll think about that later. I think more urgent matters have come up." Rey, feeling bold, gave him a tempting look while blushing violently at her audacity.

"And how do you suggest we treat them?" Ben was lost in the thought of Rey's blush, wondering if it would spread to the rest of her body. He ran his thumb along the edge of her jaw to her neck and stopped at the base of her throat, leaving a burning trail behind him, to feel her pulse racing under the gentle pressure.

"That depends." She responded with a hint of her voice. "I'm sorry the facilities are not to your liking." Rey laughed roguishly, which for Ben was the same as seeing the sun rise after the rain.

"We'll figure it out." He answered as he took her in his arms and carried her to the small bed where he carefully deposited her.

Then he sat down beside her to watch her carefully, enjoying her sunny cheeks and hazel eyes, darkened by passion.

But Ben seemed to hesitate for a moment, and Rey sensed the vacillation, fearing that he would walk away from her again.

Ben knew that if he went any further, he risked changing Rey's life forever.

The path of the Jedi was absolutely against creating romantic bonds because intense emotions could only lead to the Dark Side, although no one better than he could recognize that there were areas in between.

She could no longer continue her training, however, because she would have to choose between him and the Order, and he did not want to force her to make a decision that could turn them against one another.

_Though perhaps it was too late to stop and think about that._

Either way, he did not want to take something from her that she would later regret giving up, even if at the time all the signs indicated that she was certain of what she would do.

"Ben?" Rey sat up herself to match his face

"There's no turning back." He stroked one of her cheeks tenderly. "Are you sure about this?"

The bond between them was opened by letting Rey see his fears, those he did not dare to name aloud. She cared for him too, but was determined.

"I am." Rey intertwined her fingers with his, kissing him fondly.

The fear of turning her into something like him devastated him. It was ironic that hours earlier his goal would have been precisely to turn her into his dark empress. But he no longer wanted that, not if it meant changing her.

"I don't want to hurt you." He did not want to throw her into the Darkness as he had done himself. He had fallen in love with her for all that she was, the exact opposite of him, his balance, just what he needed.

Rey understood his affliction and tried to calm him down. She was not afraid of anything if he was by her side and she would never regret showing him how much she loved and wanted him.

"We will find a way. Don't worry about it."

That was all the permission he needed to hear, for her and for himself who finally accepted that the nature of Rey's love was intense and wished with all his strength to be worthy of it.

Rey came to him and laid his head on Ben's firm shoulder to murmur near his ear a whisper laden with promise.

"I love you, Ben. And I have already told you that you would never hurt me."

Her whole body shook with enjoyment and Ben could no longer contain the flow of his passion for her. In Rey's eyes he saw a reflection of his own, filled with a vehement and primitive desire that only increased his delirium.

She lay down again, as he settled down beside her, half covering her with his long body, kissing her again until she was out of breath. The caresses became bolder as the minutes passed.

The two knew that nothing would interrupt them; the Force would not separate them this time. But everything was new and they wanted to take advantage of every second to delight in the miracle of being in each other's arms, together for the first time, happy to have met at last. As if they had all the time in the world to look at each other, as if far away from the two of them there was no war.

The fire that seemed not to be consumed shone with greater force painting their bodies with warm tones while they recognized them through the hands of the other, amazed by the sensations that the caresses produced.

But soon they needed to go further and sent each other's anxious consent through their thoughts.

Ben stood up to take off his clothes while staring at Rey, catching her eyes, bewitched by her. With his back to the fire, half his body was left in the shadows, accentuating his mysterious attraction.

Rey could not help but turn her gaze to his magnificent body as he stripped off his clothes. The well-marked muscles were accentuated by the contrast of light and shadow, increasing Rey's appetite for exploring with her own hands. The scar extended beyond her face into his ample chest and she tried not to think of the pain it would have caused her, averting her gaze with guilt.

For a second, the two remembered their last fight in Starkiller and the dramatically opposite feelings they had then. But when they looked at each other again, they discovered that the attraction was between them from the beginning, just as it is now, but nothing stood between them anymore. They decided to put the past behind them.

He sensed her anguish and approached to erase her sadness. With gentle caresses on her back he assured her that he was fine and no longer had to worry about it.

She began to undress too, always looking at him in the eyes that seemed to see something precious and special in her. Until the contact was interrupted when he began to kiss every inch of skin she was leaving uncovered, even the bandages on her arms that he carefully removed.

When the two were on equal terms, Ben lay down on the bed next to her and kissed her again. This time he lingered as long as possible on her lips and delighted in the answers Rey gave him, assuring her that he felt the same way.

But to Rey's surprise his kisses continued up to her chin and neck, and then beyond to her throat and up to her breasts. Once there, Ben gently captured one of her nipples with his mouth and was encouraged by the feeling that she was arching towards him to feel him even closer. He continued the fiery siege until he felt it firm under his tongue and brought one of his hands close to pinch it just as he moved towards the other breast to repeat the operation.

Rey's choked moans and her wildly open eyes looking at him in rapture were all Ben needed to continue his kissing trajectory further down the line. Although he stopped when he reached her navel.

Looking up at her, he found her gaze determined and without giving him time to ask, she herself moved to unbuckle her belt and take off her pants along with the last of her clothes. Exposed completely to Ben's eager gaze, she felt no fear or shame.

Ben went crazy for feel her taste and slowly pulled her legs apart gently, finding no resistance from Rey. He wanted to take all the time, engrave her aroma forever in his mind and heart and make her feel all the pleasure that her body was capable of supporting.

He was not sure what he was doing because he would never have felt comfortable with anyone before to go that far, but he let himself be guided by Rey and by the signs she sent him through the Force. Thanks to that he was able to listen to her and do to her whatever she wanted, without the need to speak out loud.

When he sank his mouth in her most intimate area, he wanted to be filled with the warmth and moisture of Rey. Bewitched, he could not stop a moan from escaping from his throat and she was maddened by the sensation that the vibration of the sound produced inside her.

Ben tried to dose his desire and took between his lips that place that concentrated the pleasure of Rey, taking possession of it with movements that left her breathless.

She felt that the world around her ceased to exist and as she adapted to the new sensations with frenetic movements, she placed her hands on Ben's head, clinging to him with her life. Again she enjoyed the sensation of sinking her fingers into the thick hair but this time she did it less gently as she got out of control and pushed him further and further towards her, until she lost track of reality again with a cry of pure joy.

Ben turned away to look at her again, he loved to look into those hazelnut eyes with green sparks and thought that Rey was the most beautiful woman in the galaxy, warning himself that he didn't want anyone else but her for the rest of his life.

She was still breathing heavily in the completion of her own climax, but she focused on Ben and what she was trying to tell her. She wanted to explain to him that she felt the same way, which she had never been in such a situation before, and was happy to give herself to him in body and soul.

But she needed him completely, without reservation, with such intensity that for a moment she was overwhelmed.

Then he lay down again beside her, and with one of his hands he walked the path he had previously traced with his kisses. When he reached her folds, he entered a finger gently and firmly, feeling Rey's predisposition towards him.

He was fascinated to find her so wet and to be responsible for producing such sensations. He repeated the movement trying to accommodate the frenetic spasms that his strokes caused her, until he felt that she was screaming his name and he lost the little control that he still had.

He moved aside to remove his pants and was completely exposed in front of her, vulnerable and majestic, without fear of feeling rejected when Rey opened his arms and welcomed him with a look full of sensuality.

But before continuing he placed one of his great hands on her belly and Rey guessed the course of his thoughts by blushing a little more if that was possible. Ben was worried about the possible consequences of their act of love and that filled her with tenderness.

"You mustn’t worry about that now." Rey tried to explain to him that before she left, the Base medical droids had done extensive checks and she was protected from having unwanted children.

"No, I mean... I would be happy if we..." He couldn't speak clearly because the illusion of a life with her and a family was something he didn't dare dream about. "In fact, very happy." And he tenderly kissed her. "I just want to spend more time with you, just the two of us."

"Sounds good to me." Rey embraced him impatiently, happily and eagerly. But moved by the infinite sweetness with which he treated her.

Leaning over her, Ben leaned his elbows on either side of her body. She seemed so small beneath him that he feared to hurt her or crush her, but the Bond vibrated between them and Rey could not help but tremble at what he saw in Ben's mind. The way he saw her, the things he wanted to do to her.

When they were both ready and confident, Ben went inside her slowly because he wanted to see the emotions that were parading in Rey's face, the sensations that he was producing.

But his purpose went overboard when she showed him what was going on in her mind and the magnitude of her desire ended all the tender intentions.

In the midst of the ecstasy of their union, Ben whispered the words she so longed to hear and she responded by interlacing his fingers with hers.

"I love you, Rey."

The deafening thunder drowned out the Rey's cries and Ben's boisterous exclamations, the fire witnessed the shared laughter of genuine delight.

The flood seemed to subside towards the dawn to cut off suddenly seconds after the sunrise.

Rey woke up surrounded by an aura of satisfaction and happiness without equal, in Ben's arms. During the night, he had sought a blanket to cover them and fanned the fire to keep the heat in the room.

Now Ben was huddled behind her with his back almost to the cold, damp stone wall, but that did not seem to affect his peaceful sleep.

Feeling Rey move a little to seek more warmth, he awoke and placed a series of tender kisses on her shoulder, as he held her even more tightly in his arms as if he feared it had all been a dream.

Outside, the porgs shrieked happily that the rain had stopped because the storm destroyed many of their nests.

The caretakers prepared to begin their daily labors, while murmuring a little annoyed that the young human girl had taken a guest in her own hut, when that was completely outside the rules of the sanctuary and constituted an unprecedented crime.

But they were not going to interfere because that was not their problem, so they continued with their routine as they had done since time immemorial.

However, the caregivers' rumors did not fall on deaf ears, because Luke had not left the island.

Worried that his fears were true but not completely believing them, he went to the Rey's hut to talk some sense into her. The girl was so stubborn and so sure of achieving her goal of rescuing her nephew that she was unwilling to let her fall into the Darkness with any greater chance.

But he definitely did not expect to encounter that scene of domestic bliss when he poked his head into the Rey's hut, minutes after they had awakened.

_And he immediately regretted it._

* * *

Ben and Rey were perplexed when Luke's form materialized in the doorway with his jaw unclenched and his eyes about to pop out of their sockets.

Everyone stood still for a few moments as they dealt with their emotions.

Rey covered herself up to her eyes with the blanket, to the point of dying of shame.

Ben was embarrassed too, but he looked to Rey for explanations. Hadn't Luke left on the _Falcon_?

Luke turned to leave as quickly as possible, confused and very angry. None of the explanations presented in his rational mind served to unravel the mystery of how those two had ended up in that state.

The sound of rushing movements and fragments of an argument through whispers inside the hut reached his ears as he waited outside on a stone bench for the lovebirds to come out and clear up what would surely be a bad joke.

"Rey!" Ben was trying to keep his cool even though he felt he was getting irritated at a high rate as he looked around the room for his clothes. "Why didn't you tell me he was still here?"

"I never said he was gone, you thought he wasn't here!" Rey wrapped herself in the blanket, totally dazed and hurt by the hostility she detected in his voice. She felt that the moment they had shared the night before was fading away and everything returned to the way it had been between them.

"But you could have told me! And I wouldn't have..." he stopped as he felt Rey's murderous gaze and chose his words carefully. "I would have been more gentlemanly with you."

_Those weren't the words she expected to hear_

"Are you having second thoughts?" Rey's eyes literally sparked like blasters.

"Absolutely not!" Ben came over and gave her a quick kiss on the lips. "I just thought we were alone."

"What difference does it make? Are you worried about what he might think?" Rey felt able to explain, but he couldn't if he had to see to it that they didn't end up killing each other, too.

"No." Ben answered with sincerity. "I'm worried about you, I'm worried that you can't train anymore, that you have to give up everything because of me." He put his hands on her head in a nervous gesture.

"I told you not to think about that anymore." Rey spoke to him sweetly, moved and more relaxed. "Besides, _you have offered to be my teacher_ before."

Ben froze in place. Rey's meaningful choice of words and her seemingly naive attitude were guiding his thoughts to the same place as the night before. And though he was dying to make love to her again, it was the last thing he needed at the time. He tried to think of his uncle waiting outside the cabin and immediately managed to cool his emotions without difficult.

_Rey, you're definitely going to kill me one of these days._

"Let me do the talking, I can fix that, but you have to trust me." Rey was determined to end this unusual situation to the benefit of all.

"What choice do I have?" Ben swallowed hard, feeling like an embarrassed teenager, as if he were still Luke's Padawan and had been caught doing something naughty.

_Only this was slightly more serious than a simple prank._

Rey offered him a look of comfort as she finished dressing and tried to compose her appearance a bit; unable to avoid the marks he had left on her at the height of his passion.

But much of her courage left her when they left the hut and the brightness of the day forced she to squint and confront her Master.

Luke was sitting there with his arms crossed, visibly disappointed, and both Ben and Rey felt like criminals about to hear their death sentence. The last Jedi took a breath and spoke with studied calm and half-contained anger.

"When you said you had a plan, Rey, I certainly didn't imagine any of this." He waved one arm and pointed at the two of them.

Ben turned to look at her but she dodged his eyes. He'd trust her, of course, but he wanted to know what plan Luke was talking about. Had he been part of some kind of manipulation? His discomfort was increasing by the minute.

_But he knew he wasn't without guilt either._

"And you." Luke looked at him with disapproval. "Have you no shame? What do you think this place is?!"

And then he addressed both of them.

"Do you have any idea what you've done? On second thought, I think you do, and you should be ashamed. You have crossed every possible boundary of decorum and honor!"

Rey was hurt but she wouldn't give up.

"I don't think you're the right person to judge."

Ben stopped her by putting a hand on her shoulder to keep her from talking further and stepped forward to his former Master and uncle. He couldn't bear to see Luke torture Rey.

"I take full responsibility. It's my own fault. I have manipulated Rey because I wished to corrupt her and convert her to the Dark Side, so that I could deliver the final blow to the Rebels. And to you." He nodded at Luke.

Rey looked at him in disbelief and squinted.

"That is a lie." Then he looked at Luke. "Ben did no such thing. I agreed and I won't blame anyone, not even myself." She went a step ahead until he was next to Ben.

"I never wanted this, I never wanted to be a Jedi but the Force was infatuated with me. All I wanted was to save my friends, to end it all. All I wanted was to save myself, never be alone again. Is that wrong?"

"I can close myself off from the Force, I don't need it at all and I just want to be with Ben. I don't need to be burdened with your legacy and neither does he. Too much evil has already been done to him. Am I making myself clear?"

Uncle and nephew looked at her without being able to articulate a word. A bright and clear energy emanated from her as she spoke, as pure as her feelings.

Her warm defense of him filled Ben with an immense love for her and an incomparable respect for her strength.

After a few moments Luke began to laugh out loud, holding his stomach almost in pain and tears welling up in his eyes,

Rey and Ben looked at each other with both eyebrows raised. They didn't know what was going on, except that _they had finally driven Luke crazy._

"Do whatever you want. The Order is useless after all. At some point the charade had to end." Luke composed himself and continued. "All I want is for you to get out of here and go finish the _damn_ war, so you can leave me alone for good!"

Then he walked up to Ben and looked at him with real regret.

"Don't think I've forgiven you for this, but I think I've made a lot of mistakes with you and I'm sorry I failed you. Make me never want to see you dead again and never regret having you in a better light." Putting a hand on his shoulder, he added. "Ben, please go home."

"I will." His voice remained firm in his response to his uncle. The wound that had been open for so many years was beginning to close.

Ben was no longer in any doubt about what he should do. Everything had changed and there was nothing left of his former life. He was a new man and far from perfect.

Years and mistakes had broken his spirit but he no longer wanted to waste his life. Not when he finally found someone willing to sacrifice herself for him, to care for him and to hold him back. Not when Rey was on his side willing to love him in spite of everything.

Rey could not help but be moved by the reconciliation event. It was everything she wanted and she had to admit that Luke was right to tell her before that it was not going to turn out the way she thought.

_Of course not, everything was even better._

She knew it wouldn't be easy, going out with Ben wasn’t, but she wanted to spend the rest of her life getting to know him and healing him, learning to love and learning from him.

Ben took her hand and brought it to her lips. Just by looking at her he knew that she would not abandon him and neither would he, because _Rey was his home._

Complex times were coming, they still had a war to end and Snoke was a heavy and threatening cloud on the horizon that he had managed to keep away for a while. The terms of his surrender were still to be discussed.

But he was no longer afraid of himself; he would overcome the obstacles with the love of Rey. Together they would succeed.

"Well?" Luke flunked them with his eyes. "Don't just stand there! Get out! We'll have time to discuss the rules next time you come here, although I sincerely hope you don't."

"Aren't you coming with us?" Rey asked.

"No. You already have everything you need." And smiling briefly and mysteriously, he walked away along the stone path to the temple.

Once his figure disappeared, Rey turned to find Ben looking at her enraptured and one of the smiles she loved so much began to form on his beautiful face.

The weight of reality was not enough to discourage them, and it never would be.

As they walked toward Ben's TIE, he stopped a few steps away as if suddenly remembering something.

"What is it?" Rey looked at him cautiously. "Isn't there room for two on that ship?"

"No. There's something I have to do before I go."

Ben pressed a button and the cabin opened with a depressurization sound. A porg flew out of it like a shot, grateful that he could escape and join his friends, who greeted him with joy. But before he left, he dedicated a series of annoying and offended squeals at Ben's feet as if demanding an apology from him.

"You kept it!" The Rey embraced the creature gently. "I thought you..."

"I couldn't help it, it reminded me of you. And now that I think about it, I owe my life to this creep." He embraced Rey with sweetness. "I even gave him a name."

"And what is it?" she asked, amused.

"I think you already know." He put a kiss on her forehead. She would never tire of showing her love.

"Come on, tell me!"

"Scavenger."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Final chapter! 
> 
> I spent a lot of time on this mini story and I'm very happy with the result. 
> 
> Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed it!

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! Meet me [on twitter](https://twitter.com/luubamoon)


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